For those that haven't seen the news (A MUST READ), we have just launched IndieDB a site dedicated to covering indie games. With this launch comes a bucketload of changes which I will run through now. Once we gauge the reaction from this news, it is possible that these changes will be ported onto ModDB along with IndieDB's new design (but red of course!).

New Design

IndieDB features a familiar design, but with rounded corners, streamlined header, cleaner footer and plenty more tweaks such as less images to speed up loading times.

Smarter Platform Selection

Whilst modding is primarily limited to PC games due to consoles and mobiles being closed platforms, indie games are being made for iPhone, Android, PS3, Xbox360, Wii, Flash etc. To cater to these developers and gamers, we have revamped our platform system so you can choose which platforms you want shown in the menu dropdown. By default all content from all platforms is shown, however you can easily select a platform and view only related news and games.

Search Suggest

Search on ModDB / IndieDB isn't great... we know that and are working on it. One MAJOR improvement that IndieDB now features is search suggest. Don't believe us? Start typing the name of your favorite indie-game into the search box top right corner on IndieDB. We have a feeling you will like this feature.

Login by Email or Username

Speed Improvements

Whilst this is a backend change, we have recently upgraded our database server, fine-tuned our profiling and overhauled the sessions system to minimize the load on our machines. This should mean faster load times for you and greater scalability in the long run.

Better Spam Filtering

We have 0 spam tolerance and will 100% erase any members that spam. Despite this, spammers have been abusing the PM system and jobs board. We have just put in additional restrictions to make this very difficult for them.

Helpful 404

The 404 page has a shiny new design and comes with a very handy search box (with suggest). Never get lost again!

Less Ads

IndieDB only displays one ad per page (no header ad) and that ad disappears if there is no ad to show (0 ads per page!). Forums and videos are now 100% ad free also.

Network Integration

Did you know your login on ModDB works on IndieDB and Desura also? All sites in DesuraNET share the same backend, so you don't need to re-join or re-add content. If your content isn't shown on IndieDB and you want it displayed, just ask and we shall assist.

Shout-out

While ModDB has been supporting indie developers for a long time, IndieDB is a first for us and we eagerly look forward to working with indie game developers on all platforms be it PC, mobile or console. IndieDB is far from being the first indie site on the web, so I wanted to quickly shout out to some of our favorites. We look forward to supporting indie games and working with you (and many other game sites also, email us).

As always, developers and gamers we want to hear from you so we can make this the ultimate place for you to interact, promote your games and make friends. So let us know your thoughts, and check out the official launch post for much more detail. Game on developers!

They share the same backend so you don't need to. Remember ModDB isn't changing, so if you like ModDB stick with it and content posted on IndieDB will continue to be shown on it. Also Desura is a distribution platform for released games and mods. It is more about "playing" while IndieDB and ModDB are more about "developing" and interaction between developers and fans.

Long-missing feature, and with the flood of indie developers using MODDB to promote their games, segregating them is a good move. Not that I'm complaining, I love reading about indies as much as I do about mods... but they don't need to be intertwingled.

I'm left wondering about things that muddle the line - when does a game move from being a mod to being an indie game? The Spring engine is particularly befuddling, since it functions more as a modding-platform-without-a-base-game than it does as an engine... but it's also hard to call the games for Spring mods (even if it does do so, internally).

I'm pretty sure they classify Indie as games without Publishers/Investors. There are indie games out there that sell for money (making it commercial), but they don't have a publisher supporting them with money to pay staff and use for advertisement and etc.

We are pretty loose on our definition. Essentially anything that isn't made by a AAA studio, i.e. Blizzard, EA, Epic etc. So if you are self funded and don't have a big studio behind you - most likely we will allow you to list on IndieDB

I like the new design and idea of separating the two types, plus the integration. Now to dump those really, really, annoying adds with the sound I have to turn off all of the time. I clicked on the ordinary adds many times over the years, but I refuse to click on sound adds out of principle. I like to listen to what I want on the PC, not what someone else wants me to hear. I do understand it is a revenue stream and they are needed, but lines do need to be drawn sometime. Thanks for reading my dribble and not deleting me. lol...

Why are your load averages added together? The 1, 5, and 15 minute averages are 3 different ways to look at a single set of data, not multiple different things happening at once; it makes it look like the load was about 9, when it was actually just three independent readings saying "3"...

Another great idea from ModDb!
Love all your sites and look forward to poking around this one too :)
Finally, I've always enjoyed the site design of ModDb and Desura so its good to see a consistent and sweet design for indiedb. Keep up the great work guys.